Union falls short in Legion loss to Rock Hill

Saturday

Jul 19, 2014 at 11:42 PM

Trent Autry of Rock Hill Post 34 called for help when he was on the mound to start the fifth inning. He had a sudden pain in his head. But it quickly went away and he was OK. For the rest of the game, he was a real pain for Union Post 22.

By TODD SHANESY todd.shanesy@shj.com

ROCK HILL — Trent Autry of Rock Hill Post 34 called for help when he was on the mound to start the fifth inning. He had a sudden pain in his head.But it quickly went away and he was OK.For the rest of the game, he was a real pain for Union Post 22.Autry was the winning pitcher Saturday night as he went 5 2/3 innings, allowing only one earned run on three hits as Rock Hill beat Union, 8-3, in the deciding game in a best-of-five series to earn a spot in the American Legion baseball state championship tournament to begin next weekend at Riley Park in Sumter.But he was also the hitting hero.Autry, a rising senior at Chester High School, had a three-run homer in the first inning and a two-run double in the fourth to give Rock Hill a 7-0 lead.“He’s an amazing player,” Post 34 head coach Mike Scott said. “With him out there, I say, ‘Wow’ two or three times a game.”Union (20-10), which finished tied for first place in League Six with Inman and rallied to stay alive Friday night, came up just one game short of the state finals.“We had a good year,” Union head coach Tommy Ford said. “Most of the way, we were probably the No. 1 team in our league. Down toward the very last, we just couldn’t hit when we needed to. “Union left a runner on third in the first, had a runner thrown out at home in the second and then left nine on base during the next four innings. Autry came on in relief to get Rock Hill out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the fourth. That was tough to take for Union, especially after Rock Hill scored four times in the bottom of the inning for an 8-1 lead.In the fifth, Autry needed that emergency visit to the mound“He had a headache all of the sudden and was trying to get it out of his system,” Scott said. “It was like a brain freeze, but I think after he got through the inning and got some Ibuprofen, it went away. As a matter of fact, he felt even stronger.”Union lost all three games played at Rock Hill High School. Post 22 took a 12-5 win Friday at the Timken Sports Complex.“Union is a real good ball team,” Scott said. “I felt like we were the underdogs.”But the early deficit for Union, three runs across before a single out was recorded, combined with leaving so many runners on base, proved too much for Post 22 to overcome.“’We got behind right off the bat,” Ford said. “We just didn’t hit the ball. If we had, it could’ve changed the momentum of the game. We had key hitters up at the right times, but we still left too many standing out there.”Jason Taylor, who came in after Jake Smith faced just three batters, pitched four innings and allowed five runs. With two out and two strikes on the next batter in the fourth, Rock Hill rallied for five straight hits to score four runs. Bryan Arnold pitched the next four innings, allowing one hit and no runs. Smith and Lerecus Hughes both had two hits. Union had just eight, three in the third, and Smith drove in a run with a single. Post 22 reached base eight times after the third inning with walks, hit-by-pitches and an error.